German 3rd Infantry Division

The German 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Wehrmacht that was active from 1 October 1934 to 2 February 1943 and from 1 March 1943 to 21 April 1945 during World War II. The division was formed as an expanded form of the Reichswehr's 3rd Division, and it took part in the Occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 and the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. In June 1941, as a motorized division, the 3rd Infantry Division took part in Operation Barbarossa, advancing on Leningrad alongside Army Group North before joining Army Group Center during its push on Moscow. In February 1943, the division was destroyed at the Battle of Stalingrad. In March 1943, it was reconstituted and sent to fight in Italy until the summer of 1944, when it was transferred to Normandy to fight against the Allied breakout. It later fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Remagen, and it was destroyed in the Ruhr Pocket.